At Asterisk*Cycles, we can offer you a full range of components, from SRAM, Zipp, Enve, to more esoteric manufacturers like AX-Lightness. Here are a few package deals we’ve put together, perfect for upgrading your bike for the coming season.

Ever since I started road biking again last year, I’ve wanted a pair of Fulcrum Racing 0s. I don’t know what it exactly was. It was probably because I had never seen red Fulcrums before, and in my mind, they would look stunning with a matte black frame. For 2010, the rims changed colors. The initial appeal for these hoops is the look. Hoops that are completely red are rare. This is the start of a long term review on these wheels.

I arrived early on the first day of the Taipei International Cycle Show. It took a while to get my pass in order. My friend who had a ticket breezed through. As I entered 1F of the expo, I started walking around.

One of the main reasons for Campagnolo to release the Fulcrum wheels was to tap the market of bike enthusiasts using SRAM and Shimano components, who weren’t keen on buying Campagnolo brand wheels.

That being said, the Fulcrum wheels are equivalent to some Campagnolo wheels, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t excellent. This year, the Fulcrum Racing Zeros come in a 2-Way fit version, meaning that they can accept tubeless and clincher tires. An easy way to differentiate the 2010 model from the 2009 model is the fact that this year’s model’s rims aren’t red, they are black.

I actually don’t know if this can be called an OEM bike. I think that it falls into that category since it can’t be a boutique bike. One of the models has been sold at least 40 times and all of the comments I’ve seen are very positive. This bike was designed by the same people behind the Storck Fascenario, and uses the same carbon fiber weave.

After having talked with a few bike racers, I’ve come to understand that they have usually two bikes on hand. A training bike and a racing bike. The racing bike is the Ferrari, with the best components and the lightest kit, while the training bike is made to last and to take abuse.

I’d like to have a Giant TCR Advanced SL0 as my training bike. I’ve come to realize that the Kuota Kredo Ultra is a mean racing machine, also pretty good to train and to race. I don’t expect to get my racing bike anytime soon. I’ll just concentrate on a training bike. The difficulty is finding a frame that fits me. The other difficulty is making sure that it costs less than the SL0 so that I can train on it ASAP.